Give a dog a bone

Then be prepared to sweep, vacuum and mop up after!  I thought it was a good idea to finally give the dogs the bones that have been sitting on the fridge for months, but forgot how my dogs like to hide and eat them in strange places.  I now have hickory smoked bone crumbles all over my new suits!  I guess that is my fault for throwing em on the floor.


Today, I look for some balance.  This new job has a lot of "Studying" that must be done before I can actually earn money.  I know my husband was getting very annoyed Friday Evening that I was online completing a tiny bit of the required coursework, but I fixed that when I pointed out that I had to finish this stuff before I could actually make some money.  So he let me study Saturday too, and even took the kids to the dentist.  It was nice, I dislike taking the kids there, and I wouldn't have been able to study because the coursework requires a Windows PC and my iPhone and iPad are definitely not that!  I did consider reinstalling Parallels on my Mac, but it would not have made a difference because I haven't jail broken my iPhone or iPad, so i couldn't have tethered my laptop.  Kinda makes me wish I would jail break it, but I worry about security issues, and I am not going to put other peoples information at risk like that, even if it only increases the risk by 1%.  It would be just too dangerous.

So, I go back to studying later this afternoon.  The kids have eaten breakfast of pan fried Spam, and I ate my Pops.  Right now I am going to get a long workout in, because the workweek is going to be long and  start early.

Wondering if my thoughts are making much sense.  I woke up last night and was deciding whether my imaginary family should have an annuity or life insurance instead....

a job and an iPhone

So I can't remember what I said last on this blog. My head has been snapped at least 5 times in the last 10 days. I have a hard time believing it has been a week since I accepted the tentative offer of employment at Bankers Life and Casualty as an Insurance agent.

I signed up for a cram class that was suggested by the managing agent at Bankers. I picked up the book the same day I had my interview, after all I did not want to waste anytime. I wanted to have read the whole study guide and go to the cram class prepared and ready to ask for clarification. It was supposed to be easy to accomplish. After all there was a plan, my husband was supposed to be home on vacation from his last week of work. So he would watch the kids, I would go to my mothers quiet house and study, study, study. Sounded good and it looked easy.

HA! God has a terribly sick sense of humor. First I got sick eating a can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli. (I was so concerned that I had eaten recalled food, I called ConAgra Foods, they sent me a coupon that I got today.) That sucked. Then my husband went to work, for what was supposed to be the last day.

He got home late that day and told me it was not his last day after all... unless I wanted it to be. He had been offered a split shift in the back room as a back office receptionist/warehouse manager. It paid better than anything else part-time. In a panic about how we were going to pay rent in August, I told him to accept it. Even if the boss man tried to lower the payrate he offered.

Anyway that was nice, but it started right away. Bummer is that ment I would not be able to escape away from the kids and go study. It meant I would be forced to try and read this crazy technical study guide while the kids, screamed, cried, laughed, made a mess, peed on the floor, chased the dog, complained about being hungry and made piles of dirty laundry and dishes. If you are wondering, I never got past the first page!

So I went to the Cram Study class, thankfully without the kids; and now I owe my sitter for her time. Bummer, more cost and not enough income. So I got past the first page and all the way to the last chapter I needed to read. I remembered some of it.

If you did not go to high school with me then you simply don't know how anal-retentive I am. Just knowing a little bit about it, or knowing enough to maybe pass was not enough. So I rescheduled my test which was supposed to be on Sunday. So glad I did. My brain was so fried by Friday Evening that I had failed to check emails or voicemail messages. I missed seeing my step-sister who was in town. Kinda Annoyed about that, but it happens when people assume you are unemployed so you can be called last minute!

So I missed seeing my sister. I missed my Mom's birthday, and I who knows what other fun thing or great opportunity was missed because I had my head so deep in a book that I couldn't tell you if I changed my underwear. Okay, Okay, the point of this tangent?! I realized how much I really did NEED a cell Phone. Not the one I have set up on my iPad, but a real one, that rings when you are in class, or on the loo. So now I have one.

I could have done the responsible thing and found my missing pay as you go Virgin Mobile phone, but after a few quick searches I started looking instead for a better replacement. I looked at other pre-paid services, I looked at all kinds of family plans. I tried to convince myself and my husband that we could get a non Apple phone. I am an elitist snob. I know. I know I didn't need another mobile Apple product. I could have just gotten some crappy phone that only makes calls and sends text messages. It might have saved me the data plan and perhaps a few dollars on the hand set, but I would never have given up my envy, love, and downright obsession with the iPhone I have always wanted.

I know it is too expensive. I know it is a want and not a need. I know it just puts one more nail in the Elitist Snob sign, but hey I don't drink wine and tell you how this one is better than that same one that is grown 2 miles to the north. Nor will I tell you how great I am.... Then again, if I continue on this path and make the type of money I intend on with my new job, no telling how Snobish or Elitist I might become.

Overwhelmed, again...

So, I know it has been nearly three weeks since I posted any thoughts on anything.  I must tell you it has been a rather overwhelming three weeks.  

My list of anxiety causing events:

Cub Scouts poor communication

Laundry

Stinky Dog Ears

Rising cost of Meat and Fresh Produce

Freezing temperatures

Actually loosing weight

Husband goes to dentist for the first time in 8 years

Astroid to hit earth 2029, 2036

Potty Training

Treasure hunting

Coupons!

Grocery Sales

Health Care and fear of loosing it in June

Dishes, dishes, dishes

Balancing the checkbook

finding a desk to put my things on

Increasing amount of email

iTouch 2.0 or iPhone

growth spurts of children

no ice cream in the house

Okay it really could go on for another 10,000 items, but these are the things that are on my mind right this second.  If you can't fathom all that on the mind at once then you are not a Mom or ADD!  The mind of Pamela O is always this busy and random. 

Cub Scouts, while a potential way to help my son get a college scholarship and great for building basic organization and self confidence skills is very bad with communication.  Perhaps it is not lack of communication but over communication.  I personally can not handle 10-15 emails in a week about 3 or 15 different events and important things we should know.  I think maybe they should simply send out an email on Wednesday or Thursday right after our weekly meeting.  If it was important simply send out one email of all the things that came from the Weekly meetings and all the announcements that come from the all the sports venders that want our dollars.  I really can't handle all the emails!

On Laundry...  This never ending chore is my nemesis!  What is it about boys and them making several pairs of dirty clothes each day.  Why do they need to throw clean clothes in the dirty basket.  Aye, digress.

Stinky Dog Ears!  Oh how I wish I could pay for a visit to the Vet!  This poor dog has stinky ears, and really for the last few years!  Why can't what ever causes the smell in the ear just die!  The problem with being poor and managing money badly....

Then there is this: rising cost of meat!  Why does it now cost $20.00 for 2 t-bone steaks?  Maybe it cost that before.  I've never actually bought such a lavish item.  It sounded so sexy.  Dinner for two, T-bone steaks, rice, salad, beer and margaritas.  After buying it, it is just ridiculously expensive.  So the cost of hamburger, something I regularly buy, is now 3.99 to 5.99 a pound.  I really want a sale, but if one doesn't come on Wednesday I will take my Safeway raincheck for 1.99 extra lean ground meat.  Why does meat cost more?  Can't say.  I know why fruits and veggies cost more.  It is cold so it all comes from Argentina and Chile which cost something ridiculous to ship to AZ.  I really do like strawberries, just don't want to pay 4.99 a pound.

It has been cold in Phoenix, AZ.  Okay so it is not Michigan cold, there is not snow, at least not in my yard, but it has been below freezing an afoul lot lately.  It is normally wonderful in Phoenix this time of year, about 50 in the evenings and 65+ in the day.  This year it has been below freezing at least 15 days in my neighborhood, and close to that many more days.  That means a higher electric bill.  I have a pre-paid electric box, that means when the weather man says it will be 22 degrees on Wednesday, I need to go add money to keep the house warm.  The difference between fabulous Phoenix winter days and wholly shit it's cold is $6.00+ a day.  A regular day, $3.50.  A freezing day, $10.00. 

So loosing weight is great! Until your pants starts falling off your hips, and your T-shirts turn into moo-moos!  Did you know that there is not any alteration shops around me?  You remember supply and demand?  Wow, I think I am going to do my alterations after this, $130.00 for 5 pair of pants and 4 shirts.  Okay they are jeans and knit shirts, but still it is expensive, and I should probably add most of the pants were way too long and I just ignored it because I would need to take them in for alterations, which is expensive.

So my husband finally went to the dentist.  The last time he went to the dentist he was in the Marine Corps, 2002.  You bet he had cavities.  Why did he finally go, even though we have no money to pay the dentist?  It hurt.  

Astroid to come near earth, Friday, April 15th, 2029.  I am sure it will be Thirteen Hundred Hours when it happens too.  Nasa and Russia claim this astroid will come so close that it will actually fly under our satellites.  Worse still, we do not have any Space Ships to go out into outer space and try to stop it!  Why is this so important, I mean, really, it is just near Earth.  Well, glad you asked!  It is predicted to return to Earth in 2036 and scientist are not certain if Earth's own gravity will cause it to collide into Earth or push it off into space.  Now I bet you see why the government should spend Money on NASA, and why we should be teaching math and science in our schools.  God gave us means to do it, so lets do it.  I would like to be  older than 55 when I die.  Of course this is all null and void if the world ends in 2012.

So now I must stop this typing and go fold the laundry and do all the other things I still have not vented about.